I have known electroacoustician Pete Stollery for a long time – almost since I started hosting Délire actuel. Fifteen years ago, he was one of the very first composers to send me material for my show. The works that ended up on his first empreintes DIGITALes releases, I had first heard and broadcasted them from DAT tapes he had mailed me. What a pleasure, then, to listen to this new album (a CD, not a DVD-A). Six works made between 2004 and 2007. Stollery has become a master in the art of lively acousmatic music. He has gained the aesthetic perfection of a Jonty Harrison, the elegance of a Francis Dhomont, and the soul… of Pete Stollery. The short “Serendipities and Sychronicities” represents the best of what can be found in this genre, including in terms of narrative/inspiration (it derives from Delia Derbyshire’s life and work). And “Scènes, rendez-vous” is a rereading/reimagining of Claude Lelouch’s famous short film C’était un rendez-vous. Strongly recommended.[Below: You can listen to excerpts from all tracks on this page.]

Kay Grant is a new voice to me, while I have known the work of clarinetist Alex Ward for a while. Here they are duetting in ten free improvisations records on five different occasions between 2008 and 2011. Lively dialogues in the first half of the record, darker and more chaotic ones in the second half (Grant starts putting live electronics into her voice, with shaky results). I’m not sure. I will refrain from making a judgment before having a chance give this one a second spin.

David Garland has just put all his discography for sale and download on bandcamp, and while he was at it, he added a brand new album, five long years after Noise in You! Though Conversations with Cinnamon Skeleton is still pure Garland, it is quite different from his previous two major records. Percussion has been largely kicked out in favour of the 12-string guitar and the string quartet. In that, this album is closer to the all-acoustic in-between 2006 opus Reveal. Garland’s metaphorical language is ever-so-slightly losing some vivdness, while the songwriting is occasionally guilty of being too slow and soft. That being said, some songs will draw me back again and again, like “The Long View,” “Splinter Heart,” and the surprising 11-minute epic “Forever.”[Below: Stream the whole album on bandcamp.]

<a href="http://davidgarland.bandcamp.com/album/conversations-with-the-cinnamon-skeleton">Conversations with the Cinnamon Skeleton by David Garland</a>

The name of this Argentinian band should put you on the track of their main influence: yes, it’s a Frank Zappa reference, and that becomes ultra-clear in the first minute of “Tetascotch,” the mad epic track that opens this zany record. Cucamonga are half street fanfare and half Zappafied progressive jazz-rock outfit. Crazy section segues, twisted melodies, moments of pure ridicule – all this and more. Solid stuff, and quite a thrill.